United States Navy Seabees Bridge
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name=United States Navy Seabees Bridge
and Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge
|image=Stone Bridge and Seabee Bridge.jpg
|image_size = 300px
|caption=1937 bridge on the left, 2003 bridge on the right,
from the New Hampshire side
(2013)
|official_name=
|carries=NH 9VERMONT v. NEW HAMPSHIRE {{Ussc|289|593|1933}} says the river, and therefore the bridge, is all in New Hampshire.
|crosses=Connecticut River
|locale=Brattleboro, Vermont to Chesterfield, New Hampshire
|maint=
|id=
|design=steel two-hinged through arch bridge
|mainspan=
|length=
|width=
|height=
|load=
|clearance=
|below=
|traffic=
|begin=
|complete=
|open=1888, 1937, 2003
|closed=
|toll=
|coordinates= {{coord|42|53|02|N|72|33|07|W|region:US_type:landmark|name=United States Navy Seabees Bridge|display=inline,title}}
}}
The United States Navy Seabees Bridge is a through-steel two-hinged arch bridge over the Connecticut River located between Brattleboro, Vermont, and Chesterfield, New Hampshire. It carries the Franklin Pierce Highway, New Hampshire Route 9, which connects to Vermont Route 9 on the Vermont side. It runs parallel to the Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge which it replaced, but which has been retained as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
History and construction
In 1888, a suspension bridge was built over the Connecticut River between Brattleboro and Chesterfield. It lasted until it was heavily damaged by a flood in March 1936.{{Cite web|url=https://www.reformer.com/community-news/the-one-bridge-idea-that-faded-into-history/article_da525230-f617-11eb-b423-af1fecdd3592.html|title=The one-bridge idea that faded into history|website=reformer.com}} Divers have confirmed that pieces of the old bridge still lie on the riverbed under the current bridges.
In 1937, a steel arch bridge was constructed as a replacement. That same year, it received from the American Institute of Steel Construction the "Annual Award for Merit for Most Beautiful Steel Bridge, Class C".
In 2003 a new steel arch bridge was built, because of concerns about the safety of the old bridge. The new bridge was built for heavier loads. It has a wider deck, more overhead clearance, and utilizes suspender cables instead of thin suspender beams. The old bridge was retained as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and in 2010 was named by the State of New Hampshire for the former Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court Harlan Fiske Stone, who was born in Chesterfield.{{cite book| last = Whittlesey| first = Charles W.| title = Crossing and Re-Crossing the Connecticut River| publisher = The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company| year = 1938| location = New Haven, Connecticut| pages = 24–25}}[http://chesterfieldarchbridge.org/history/ "History"] on the Chesterfield Arch Bridge Beautification and Preservation Society website
{{gallery|mode=packed|height=165|width=165
|Image:IMG 4528 United States Seabees Bridge 1937 award plaque.jpg|1937 bridge's award plaque
|Image:229 36 United States Navy Seabees Bridge.jpg|Both bridges from the road of the 1937 bridge, looking up
|Image:229 37 suspender cable attach point on new bridge.jpg|Suspender cable attach point on the 2003 bridge
|File:Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge plaque.jpg|Plaque re-dedicating the old bridge
}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.chesterfieldarchbridge.org/ Chesterfield Arch Bridge Beautification and Preservation Society]
{{Crossings navbox
|structure = Crossings
|place = Connecticut River
|bridge = United States Navy Seabees Bridge
|bridge signs = 20px 20px |upstream = Route 123 bridge
|downstream = VT/NH Route 119 bridge
}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Through arch bridges in the United States
Category:Bridges over the Connecticut River
Category:Bridges completed in 1937
Category:Bridges completed in 2003
Category:Bridges in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Category:Road bridges in New Hampshire
Category:Road bridges in Vermont